Metal nanowires have received increasing interest as promising materials for transparent electrodes components (TEC) conventionally used in solar cells, touch screen panels, flat and flexible displays. However, many metal nanowires have problematic characteristics, and thus there is a need to find alternatives.
Silver nanocrystals have fascinating optical properties known as localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), which is essential to applications for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), optical sensing, and bio-imaging. Silver nanocubes, in particular, have strong electromagnetic field enhancements at their sharp corners, which can drastically increase the Raman scattering cross sections of molecules at these sites for SERS detection and imaging. However, the susceptibility of elemental Ag to oxidation often leads to corner truncation and thus deterioration of SERS activity. The toxicity of the released Ag+ ions also limits the SERS application of Ag nanocubes in a biological system. Thus, there is a need to find alternatives.